End-gate for wagon-beds.



No. 794,328. PATENTED JULY 11, 1905. W. F, WAGNER. END GATE FOR WAGON BEDS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 30.71904.

UNTTED STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT OEEicE.

WVILLIAM F. IVAGNER, OF FAIRBURY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH 1 TO HENRY WEBER AND ONE-FOURTH TO LOUIS \VEBER, OF FAIRBURY,

ILLINOIS.

END-GATE FOR WAGON-BEDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,328, dated July 11, 1905.

Application filed January 30, 1904. Serial N0. 191,325-

To all 1071 0111 it may concern:

Be it known that I, TILLIAM F. VVAGNER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fairbury, in the county of Livingston and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in End-Gates for Vagon- 3eds; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to end-gates for wagonbeds; and it consists of certain novel features of combination and construction of parts, the preferred form whereof will be clearly set forth in the following specification and pointed out in the claim.

The prime object of my invention, among others, is to provide an end-gate which may be manufactured at a comparatively small cost and the parts thereof readily assembled each in its respective operative position, so that the complete endgate will reliably perform its oflice of not only locking the end of the wagonbed against spreading, but will be prevented from casually slipping out of place when once disposed in its locked position.

Other objects and advantages will be hereinafter made clearly apparent, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are made a part of this application, and in which Figurel shows a perspective view of my invention complete as applied to an ordinary wagon-bed. Fig. 2 shows a top plan view of my improved end-gate disposed in an open or unlocked position. Fig. 3 is a detail view showing a section of the end of my gate and a contiguous portion of the wagon-bed, such View being taken on dotted line 8 3 in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is an elevation of my end-gate, showing the same disposed in a locked position. Fig. 5 is a perspective detail view showing one end of my gate and also showing the end of the wagon-bed adapted to receive the same and hold it against vertical movement. Fig. 6 is a vertical section of Fig. 4, on line 6 6.

Referring to the various details of my invention and cooperating accessories by numerals, 1 and 2 designate the side walls of the wagon-bed of the usual or any preferred construction, each wall being provided with a substantially H-shaped retaining member,

said member comprising the vertical inner cleat 3, which is substantially square in crosssection, the outer or end cleat 4, and the horizontal bar or rib section 16. Theinner faces of the cleats 4 are cut away or beveled, so as to coincide with or fit snugly against the rounded or beveled edge 5 of the terminal member 6, said terminal member being substantially U -shaped and adapted to receive between the parallel inwardly-directed flanges 7 and 8, the extreme outer end of the gate-section 9, said end sections being hinged to the complementary gate-section 10, which latter is also provided with the terminal member 6, substantially the same as that provided for the gate member 9. The inner edge of the terminal member 6, or that edge adapted to abut against the vertical cleat 3 and the wall of the bed, is substantially right-angled, so that when the end-gate is disposed in its locked position said terminalmember 6 will be snugly disposed between the cleats 3 and 4 and the wall of the bed, and thus limiting the amount of wear and also preventing leakage of grain around the ends of the endgate. The meeting edges of the gate members 9 and 10 are beveled, so as to insure that said edges will fit closely together, and thereby dispose each of said members in the same plane, a pair of hinges 11 being also provided upon the inner side thereof, whereby the members 9 and 10 will be permanently united together and adapted to swing outward at their middle portion.

Upon the outer side of the gate member 9 I secure, preferably near the middle portion thereof, the bracket 12, having a recess 13 in its free end, while to the other gate member 10 I attach the latch or locking-detent 14, which is provided with an inwardly-directed stem passing laterally through an aperture in the member 10, while the extreme end thereof is engaged and held in position by the locking-nut 15 or any equivalent means.

The members 6 are provided with suitable recesses 17, formed in a contiguous part of the outer edge of said members, which are adapted to receive the rib-section 16 and prevent the gate members from having a vertical movement after the same have been disposed in a locked position, said recess being preferably centrally disposed between the upper and lower ends of said members.

In Fig. 2 I have illustrated the method of placing my improved end-gate in its operative position, wherein it will be observed that the locking-detent 14 has been moved into a horizontal plane, so as to become disengaged from the recess 13, thereby permitting the middle portion of the gate to be moved outward upon its hinges 11, whereby the beveled edge 5 may be readily disposed in engagement with the inner beveled face of the cleat 4 and also permit the locking-rib 16 to enter its recess in the edge of the member 6, and it is therefore obvious that after the edge 5 has thus been entered in place a pressure upon the middle portion of the gates will cause the member 6 to drop in position between the cleats 3 and 4, when by dropping the locking handle or detent 14 downward, so thatit will occupy a vertical position, said locking-bar will lie across the recess 13 and reliably hold the inner ends of the gate members 9 and 10 against outward movement until the locking-detent shall have again been moved into a horizontal position, so that the end thereof will move freely into the recess 13. It is also obvious that when the gate members 10 have been disposed in a locked position, as indicated in Fig. 1, all upward movement thereof will be prevented by the transversely-disposed rib-section 16 at each end of the gate.

It will be understood that the parts of my invention may be made any desired size and of any preferred material deemed most suitable for the purpose, and while I have described the preferred combination and construction of parts I desire to comprehend in this application all substantial equivalents and substitutes.

It will be clear that since the beveled edges 5 are disposed in interlocked relationship with the cleat members 4:, having a corresponding inner face, as hereinbefore stated, the side walls 1 and 2 will be reliably held against spreading, thus dispensing with the necessity of a special end rod now commonly employed for holding the side walls in' place.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

An end-gate for wagonbeds, comprising the combination with an end-gate formed in two sections and hinged together, and longitudinal U-shaped terminal members 6 secured to each end of said end-gate, one edge of said terminals forming a right angle while the opposite edge thereof is provided with a beveled flange 5, of an H-shaped member secured to each of the walls of the wagon-bed, the inner vertical cleat of the H-shaped member presenting an annular seat or corner to receive the inner face of said U-shaped terminal 6, while the outer vertical cleat has its inner face beveled to receive the beveled flange 5 of the terminal members 6, the horizontally-disposed bar or rib-section 16 of said H-shaped member being disposed within the space inclosed by the uprights thereof designed to take into a transverse recess in the member 6 and hold the end-gate against vertical movement, and means to lock the meeting ends of said gate members, whereby they will be disposed transversely across the wagon-bed and secured against relative movement and the end-gate locked simultaneously against both vertical and outward movement, the vertical lock being entirely concealed from view, all substantially as specified and for the purpose set forth. I

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM F. WAGNER.

Witnesses:

EARNEST L. WEBER, E. A. AGARD. 

